Salvation

January 15, 2013
Osterlund offers a believable and touching relationship between two protagonists readers will come to believe belong together. Despite the hardship of immigrating to the United States from Mexico in elementary school, Salvador "Salva" Resendez, now a senior, is a straight-A student and the star quarterback of his football team. Having taken freshman English in middle school, he's not happy when he's saddled with the additional responsibility of AP English with a teacher known as "the Mercenary" instead of phys ed. Beth Courant, aka the "walking disaster area," is also an A student--though a hopelessly disorganized one--and a gifted writer. Her pitch-perfect, third-person internal dialogue, which fluidly alternates with Salva's, reveals grief over the loss of her grandmother and her mother's neglect. When Salva receives a D from the Mercenary, he turns to Beth. Predictably, Salva begins to return Beth's hitherto-unrequited crush, but what is unpredictably refreshing is the manner in which their romance unfolds. Salva and Beth both want a brighter future, but when tragedy strikes, it will take their combined strength--not just Beth's, as the marketing copy unfortunately implies--to pull them through. The romance ultimately rises above occasional false-sounding slang to tell a story of friendship, love and determination that will satisfy readers. (Fiction. 14-17)

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April 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-High school seniors Salvador Resendez and Beth Courant both struggle with family pressures and dream of leaving their small town where the only opportunity is to work in the local onion-processing plant. Salva's father demands perfection from his son to prove that leaving Mexico and creating a new life in America was worth it, and the popular teen is determined not to let his family down the way that his college-dropout older brother has. Shy and clumsy bookworm Beth copes with her mother's recovering alcoholism and wants to leave her trailer-park home behind to attend a good college on a full scholarship. Forced to work together for a school project, Beth and Salva soon experience a tender connection that has them flirting over Shakespeare in this modern Romeo and Juliet tale. Readers looking for a gentle story of first romance will enjoy this sweet offering.-Madigan McGillicuddy, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, Atlanta, GA

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2013
Grades 8-11 Salva Resendez came to the U.S. from Mexico as a child. He works hard to achieve his dreams, or at least, to achieve the dream his parents want for him. Straight-A student, student body president, and football star, Salva has it all until he begins to notice talented writer Beth Courant. Beth helps Salva discover what his dreams really are, but they both learn that you can't always get what you want unless you're willing to give up something else. In this Romeo and Julietesque story, told in alternating chapters, Osterlund creates a painfully real tale about two teenagers going against an unrelenting world. Along with a solid story, this also delves into issues of culture and race. Many teens who face pressure from their family or society will instinctively relate to the story's message: life isn't always about popularity and grades, and sometimes even the people who love you don't know what's best.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)